‘Somebody’s got to beat Novak Djokovic’, says former star

At least for a few more months, there is a great record of consistency on the ATP circuit that will remain valid within the Grand Slams. And he couldn’t be in better hands. Veteran generational rivals Roger Federer of Switzerland and Feliciano López of Spain are tied in the number of Grand Slam tournament appearances with a total of 81 each. Although Federer has already retired with that number, there is also no certainty that Feli can stay with the brand alone because his ranking has fallen to 824th place, and he would need a special invitation to one of the big events to be able to access it. The third and last place on the podium is occupied by another active player, another Spaniard, in the figure of Fernando Verdasco with 71 Grand Slams played throughout his career. It seems a matter of time before he leaves that place, especially by two threats that remain active and that live a much better moment. The Frenchman Fabrice Santoro retired with 70 “great” contested, while the Russian Mikhail Youzhny finished with 69. Only in sixth place did the Serbian Novak Djokovic appear, who at 35 years old has accumulated 69 appearances in the main draw of a Grand Slam. With 68 is the Frenchman Richard Gasquet. The German Philipp Kohlschreiber also accumulates 68. These are the players who have played the most Grand Slams throughout history, with Roger Federer and Feliciano López sharing a record that seems like a matter of time before it will be held by Novak Djokovic. How many years do you think remain in the Serbian tennis player’s career at a high level?

Navratilova comments on Djokovic

Martina Navratilova predicts Novak Djokovic will pip Rafael Nadal to end the 2023 season as the leader in the all-time Grand Slam race in men’s tennis. “The odds are with Novak Djokovic,” Martina Navratilova told Tennis Channel in a recent interview. “Chances are he’ll win one, or two, maybe even three Majors this year. Rafa is an odds-on favorite at Roland Garros, but the rest of them, for me, Novak is the favorite in all the other three Majors,” Navratilova stated. “So, somebody’s got to beat him and make him pay the price, but right now, odds-on favorite in all those three.” In this first part of the season Nole has proven to be the clear favorite to win, he almost dominated the ATP tournament in Adelaide but at the same time he raised some concerns. First in the semifinal against Medvedev and then these days again with the Russian, Nole has suffered some physical problems and in the last hours there is concern for the tennis player. As reported by the Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo, very close to the affairs of the former world number one, Novak Djokovic has also canceled today’s training session, the reason for which is unknown but is assumed to be a precaution.